Roses In the Winter
by JadedXO
Summary: This is about DACEY. DACEY, and oh did I mention that this is about DACEY. Lol. This is an AU where Danny is a teacher at Green Grove and Lacey is a student. And well… Dacey. You can add can't you? Rated M for the subject.
1. Chapter 1

**This is about DACEY. DACEY, and oh did I mention that this is about DACEY. Lol. This is an AU where Danny is a teacher at Green Grove and Lacey is a student. And well… Dacey. You can add can't you? =]]]]]] Enjoy.**

**-Jaded XO**

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"I can't believe Mr. Stanford is gone." Phoebe says closing her locker.

Lacey looks up from her book and replies, "I know right. I know he said he may not be back before break, but jeez. I wonder who his replacement is."

"Me too. I hope he's cuter than Mr. Stanford. Then I'd have a reason to focus." Phoebe says as both the girls share a laugh.

"I just hope he's as intelligent and kindhearted. If I know more than the teacher, it'll drive me crazy." Lacey says.

Lacey Porter was a very hardworking student. She doubled her classes her entire high school career so now she takes 4 classes of her own and for the rest of the day she's an assistant for Mr. Stanford's English class. So she hopes for a good replacement with maybe not the same requirements as her friend Phoebe. Although with her recently relationship history she wouldn't mind some eye candy. A few weeks before winter break she broke up with her boyfriend of the last 2 years Charlie McBride because he cheated on her with her best friend, well ex-best friend Jo Masterson. She cried for the first few days, but after a while she decided it was best to just, move on. It definitely helped she didn't she them for a couple weeks. She's thankful her friends Phoebe and Rico were there for her.

Her first four classes were a breeze, but she was so anxious to get to her English class and see who the new teacher was, she couldn't wait so she skipped lunch to go introduce herself. She walks to the classroom door and stops dead in her tracks. She couldn't move a muscle, she couldn't speak.

"Hi. I'm Daniel Desai the new English teacher." He stands up to come introduce himself.

Lacey hadn't realize she stopped breathing until it was time for her to respond. She takes a breath, "oh, um, I'm Lacey Porter, your assistant for the rest of the day. Well for the rest of the day for the rest of the school year. Not just today." Lacey does a nervous laugh. She can't believe how much she's rambling. "Nice to meet you Mr. Desai."

"Ah yes, Ms. Porter. You're very ambitious aren't you, it's a bit early for your shift." He says laughing and leaning on a desk near Lacey.

Lacey smiles and laughs a bit, "Right, yeah, um, I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to meet you. Mr. Stanford was a great teacher, he taught me a lot."

"Well I hope I live up to your expectations." He smiles at her. Danny is stunned. She is absolutely gorgeous but he knows he can't allow himself to think these thoughts. She's his student. He maintains his composure. "But go have lunch, can't study literature on an empty stomach. I'll see you soon."

"Right, yeah, see ya." She flashes a smile and leaves.

She smiles as she walks down the hallway. "Oh my god."

He smiles as he turns to go back to his desk. "Oh my god."

** I know it's short. It's kind of like an intro. I was anxious to get to concept out there. I will be updating soooooon. Read and review PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. =]]]]]]]]]]] - JadedXO**


	2. Give an Inch

**Here's the next portion. I'm so glad I'm receiving positive feedback on it! I plan on putting a lot of time and thought into this story. Dacey looooooveeeee. =] – JadedXO**

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Lacey sits outside by herself for lunch, reading some classic romance literature. She was totally in the mood. She felt as if she just experienced love at first sight. But that's impossible; she can't love her teacher. Besides that point, you can't love somebody you don't even know. Whatever the feeling, it gave her butterflies as she headed back to class for the rest of the day. Being next to Mr. Desai all day was going to be a challenge to say the least, but she was more than ready to accept.

"Ms. Porter. You're right on time. Can you sort these papers out for me? It's a few things I need to hand out to the class." Danny requests of her.

Lacey drops her bag at her desk, adjacent to Danny's and walks over to grab the paperwork. "Sure thing Mr. Desai."

"I have to get used to being called that. It's still very odd to me." He laughs.

"I could imagine. You don't look like a mister. Oh. No. I meant. I mean, uh, you look really young." Lacey stumbles.

Danny turns to her and smiles, "it's okay. I am young. 22 to be exact."

"WOW! And you're already teaching?" Lacey was stunned.

"Yup. I worked hard in school. Finished early. Did a student teacher thing for a while and I got hired here." Danny responded as he reached to grab something on his desk, lightly grazing Lacey's hand in the process. The both jumped a little as if they were slightly shocked and turned to look at each other.

Time seemed to be suspended in that moment. They both knew exactly what they felt.

"Um, would you like me to put the students' papers on the desk" Lacey jumped up and walked around the desk.

Danny was still at a loss. "Uh… uh. Yes. Yes. Please. Thank you Lacey."

Little did he know he just sent a spark thru to Lacey bones when he said her name. The way it sounded to her, it was if her name was made just for his lips to say.

The rest of the day went as well as to be expected. There wasn't another incident and Lacey was thankful. She or Danny would conveniently find a way to distance themselves from the other during the periods in between class when they were alone. Then the end of the day arrived. And Lacey had to stay an extra thirty minutes to help the teacher wrap up the day.

Danny starts, "so how do you think today went?"

Lacey turns from her desk to a Mr. Desai leaning on his, staring at her intently; as if he could see all of her, all of what she was. "Well I'd say. Everybody, especially the girls, seem to really like you."

They both laugh. "Right. I probably shouldn't say this but, that Regina girl. She tried so hard to come on to me today. It was unsettling, haha."

"Yeahh. You'll have to watch out for Regina. She's not the most, wholesome girl you'll meet. Can't say I blame her though." Lacey realizes what she says and immediately regrets it. "I should go."

Lacey grabs her things and walks towards the door. Danny doesn't want her to leave, but he can't tell her that. He almost does. "Ms. Porter."

"Yes Mr. Desai." She waits.

Danny hesitates. "Have a good evening." He gives her a warm smile and returns to his work.

Lacey gets home and falls to her bed. She can't stop thinking about Mr. Desai. Or Danny. She was totally confused on what to call him. Lacey wanted to talk to him. But she didn't have his number.

"I do have his email. I shouldn't. I mean, I can. There's no harm. What would I say? What would he say? Would he even reply? AHH!" She argues with herself.

After settling in from her long day, she checks her phone. Jo has called her. Why? She wondered to herself. She didn't care to respond. Her plan of ignoring her for the rest of eternity seemed to be working for her. She looks at her email app to see she has a few unread ones.

"Maybe it's an answer back from this summer internship!" Lacey was waiting for this for a few weeks now. But it wasn't. She did however have an email for Mr. Desai. "Oh my goodness." She opens it. Scared of what it will say.

_Daniel Desai_

_4:19pm_

_Subject: Homework._

_Good evening Ms. Porter,_

_You left in such a rush that you left your homework from your other classes. Now that I'm writing you, I'm not sure what I can exactly do about that now. Lol._

_Did I just 'lol'. Um. I have your homework, I'll leave it on your desk and you can pick it up in the morning. I'll be there early if you'd like to get it before you begin your classes._

_Have a good night Lacey._

_Daniel Desai_

Lacey couldn't believe it. And she left her homework? She completely forgot about it. She didn't know how to respond. He seemed as if he just wanted an excuse to talk to her. He was so laid back at first. Glancing over the email a thousand times and analyzing it to death, she decided to just go for it and reply.

_Lacey Porter_

_8:30p_

_Subject: RE: Homework_

_Thank you Mr. Desai. I'll just pick it up in the morning._

_I really appreciate you telling me, I hadn't even noticed I left it._

_Lacey Porter._

_Daniel Desai_

_8:32pm_

_Subject: RE: Homework_

_Youre welcome. _

_A scholar like you forgetting homework is a shock. Excuse me if I'm out of place, but is everything okay?_

_Daniel Desai._

Danny felt himself crossing the line but he couldn't stop himself. He had a burning desire to know Lacey. The only problem is she's 17 and his student. He contemplated his actions as he waits for her email. Danny just knew she wouldn't reply. Or report him! He was a ball of confusion at this point. Suddenly his phone pings. He grabs it with no hesitation.

_Lacey Porter_

_8:41:pm_

_Subject: RE: Homework_

_Today was just a bit weird. So many new things happened, along with just dealing with stupid teen issues. Nothing major. _

_Thanks for asking though._

_Lacey Porter._

New things happened? Danny wondered if he had anything to do with her being off. He hoped so. He never wanted anything more. He replies.

_Daniel Desai_

_8:45p_

_Subject: RE: Homework_

_If you ever need to talk about these stupid teen issues, the school does a have counselor lol. And me. _

_Get some rest Ms. Porter! Tomorrow we delve into the wonderful world of western Lit._

_Daniel Desai_

Lacey proceeded to do as told. And as she lay in her bed, she dreamed of a place and time where she and Danny could be together with no problem. She couldn't do it in person, so she figured there'd be no harm in dreaming about it. Little did she know, Danny was doing the same.

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**OOOOOOOOO. Lines are being crossed. Will they go all the way? =]]]] READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! -JadedXO**


	3. You've Got A Friend

**I know the subject matter is a bit… touchy, but I bare this in mind when writing this. That's why I set their ages the way I did, I have a plan. But this is FANfiction in this case, FANTASY fiction. It's a story idea I wanted to see, nobody wrote it for Twisted so I did. It's NOT THAT SERIOUS. I'm not writing to replace the show nor am I getting paid for this. This is for leisure. But I've gotten overall good feedback. Thanks for reading. =]**

**On a note for the actual story, Lacey may not be in this chapter much. It's more so Danny's life after moving and getting a job… just Danny. Lol. ENJOYYYYY**

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Over a week has passed since Daniel Desai first came to Green Grove High. He has adjusted quite nicely, making new friends from colleagues at work. He has become particular close with Cole Farrell, the P.E. teacher. They are both about the same age and share many interest. He's glad to have a friend at work and from the area, he has introduced him to new people, making his transition to moving here easier.

"Sup man." Danny says as he hops in Cole's car.

"Suppp." Cole responds. "Ready to see what Green Grove has to offer?"

Danny looks at Cole, "doesn't seem like much." They both laugh.

"You're right but there's a nice club on the other side of town. It's pretty cool." Cole explains.

"Alright I trust you." Danny relaxes

They arrive at the club and surprisingly had a great time. Danny met the rest of Cole's circle and it seems as if he became a part of it. It was truly thankful and had a blast. As they were leaving, they chatted and laughed with a few friends as they had to the car. Danny checked his phone and saw the time. He quietly hoped he had an email from Lacey, but of course he wouldn't. This night served as a way for him to forget this crazy notion he picked up. Girls, of course, approached him all night. He tried to make conversation with a few, but he just had this feeling in the back of his mind he couldn't shake.

After the club, the group went to Johnny Cakes for an after the club meal. They enter the restaurant keeping up a moderate chatter, everybody is still pretty pumped and happy to be in each other's company.

"This food is AMAZING. You're going to love it." Cole says.

Danny is browsing the menu, "what should I get? It all looks pretty good."

One of Cole's friends Ashley offers up her suggestion, "Ooo get the mushroom burger. It's super delicious."

"No, don't listen to her, she's drunk. Get a BLT." His other friend Archie replies. The two begin to argue slightly, it's rather hilarious but Danny decides on the burger and orders.

The group shares another hour of laughs and getting to know Danny and vice versa. Danny then looks at his phone to check the time. "Dude, its 3am, I have to get home."

Cole looks at his phone, "Right, yeah, it's crazy late. Let's go." They say their goodbyes and Cole, Danny, Archie, and John pile in the car and begin the journey home. Cole decides to drop Danny off first since he's closest.

Pulling up to Danny's house he says good bye. "Thanks for the outing man. See you at work Monday and see you guys for pool next Wednesday!"

"No problem bro. See ya!" Cole says.

"You're a cool dude Danny. See ya." Archie adds. John nods agreeing with Archie. Danny gets out of the car and waves as Cole pulls off.

Heading into the house, Danny drops his keys down and goes up stairs. The young teacher decided tonight he's not going to think of Lacey tonight. He kicks his boots off, throws his shirt across the room, shimmies off his pants and throws himself on his bed. He runs his hands thru his hair and begins his daunting task of not thinking about the unthinkable. Thankful for the alcohol in his system, he quickly drifts off. Thoughts of caramel dimples, full bright smiles, and a laugh as sweet as a song fill his head…

Danny awoke the next morning with not much of a hangover, he was thankful. He decided to get up, make some breakfast, and do some work for school. He was truly elated about his new job. With a real passion for literature, he couldn't think of any other way to share that passion with others. He settled in his office on the first floor to grade some papers. Danny couldn't have asked for a better bunch of kids. They were all very bright. The first paper was from Rico, perhaps his favorite student. His analysis are almost always flawless. He seems a bit social awkward but he's noticed that he's good friends with Phoebe and Lacey, two more of his better students. It's nice they all rub off on each other in positive ways. Lacey is truly amazing. Ahead of her class, the head of her class, and she's a social butterfly. A model student to say the last. He chooses to move on, not to dwell. He's done well the past few hours.

Well into the afternoon, Danny has finished his work and relaxes the rest of the evening. He's excited for work tomorrow, he's come up with a fun way to read and analyze Shakespeare's work. He feels the students will enjoy it. Tomorrow should be a good day, and hopefully Danny can keep his mind straight and focused, and not on Lacey. No matter how spectacular she has proved to be.

**That's this chapter. Like I said, not much Lacey. I wanted to not only focus on Dacey but their characters and where they are in their lives a little bit. Next one will more than likely be Lacey-centric. Read and review! Thankkkkkkkksssss =] -JadedXO**


	4. You have no ragrets?

**people who have PM'd with me expressing their support and the reviews I received giving the same. I couldn't reply to the guest reviews but don't think your comments have gone unnoticed. 33333333**

**I will try to update as quickly as possible, but it is the end of the semester, and I'm a junior, and well… Papers, speeches, exams etc. And I'm an artist and actress. So I'm constantly doing something lol. Hang in there if the updates don't come daily. ;]]]**

**-JadedXO**

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"So nothing happened." Regina asks while raising her eyebrow.

"For the tenth time, no, nothing happened." Lacey responds.

"You're lying." Regina replies quickly.

Phoebe picks up a fry. "You know everybody's not a slut bucket who would screw their teacher."

Rico snorts and almost spits out his soda. "Wouldn't that be called a burn?"

"Oh my gosh, Phoebe!" Lacey says laughing a little.

"I'm just saying." Phoebe smirks and continues eating.

Regina rolls her eyes at the comment, "screw you Feebz."

"Wouldn't be surprised if you wanted to." Phoebe retorts. And everybody laughs. "Okay, that was mean. Sorry Reggie. But honestly, who would REALLY sleep with their senior lit teacher. No matter how drop dead gorgeous he was."

"Alright, I'm officially excluded from this conversation." Rico says.

Lacey most definitely will not admit she thinks about Mr. Desai, or Danny. She's still not clear on his title, and she hates making Rico feel left out. He's often the only guy in the group. Especially since Charlie's officially kicked out. "Can we change the subject please? Mr. Desai is our teacher. Nobody in his class should be trying to sleep with him."

"Well that most definitely didn't stop Todd from trying thru flirting with him." Regina laughs.

"Oh, the same way you flirted with him AND Coach Ferrell?" Rico points out.

Regina's face straightens while the rest of the table burst into laughter.

Lacey and her friends were enjoying a Saturday together, the same one Danny was also enjoying with his new found friends. At Johnny Cakes early in the evening, Lacey, Rico, Regina, and Phoebe were eating before going to Tiffanie's, another senior in their class, house party. Shortly, after everybody got their meals, Charlie and Jo walk in. Because Lacey and Rico had their backs to the door, they didn't see them.

"Okay so Lacey, don't freak out. And don't turn around." Phoebe says thru a fake smile plastered on her face. "But Charlie and Jo just walked in."

"What a bitch." Regina says.

Lacey's heart starts racing and she makes sure not to turn in their direction. She's done a good job of avoiding the two at school and she's never seen them together off of school grounds. "It's okay. I'm okay. As long as they don-. "

"Hi Lacey." Jo all of the sudden was right at their table.

Phoebe notices Regina gear up to attack and she nudges her with her elbow giving a disapproving head motion.

Rico noticing the awkward in the air immediately becomes more awkward. "Oh hey Jo. Fancy seeing you here. And With Charlie. Well I mean, its not- uh, he, did cheat." He exhales. "With you."

Regina chimes in, "Oh my god. Could you be MORE awkward?"

Lacey, without lifting her head to look at her former best friend, finally speaks, "what do you want Jo?"

"Well I've been calling and texting you. You've been avoiding me." Jo says

"That obvious huh?" Lacey pokes at her food, wishing she'd leave.

Jo looks down, "Lacey please talk to me. I'm sorry."

"Oh you're hardly sorry! You just walked in here with the reason you're NOT sorry." Regina blurts. Causing others in the diner to quiet down and pay attention a bit more.

Lacey doesn't want the evening ruined. "Don't waste your breath Regina. Jo, can you please leave me alone and walk away." She looks her dead in the eyes.

Jo can see the hurt in Lacey's face. She can't justify nor argue with what she did. She starts to speak but just turns around and walks to the bar top where Charlie is picking up their order. He looks at Lacey and they make eye contact. He can barely stand to look her in the face after what he did. He hangs his hand, grabs Jo's hand and they leave.

"So I'm not hungry anymore." Phoebe says. "Ready to party Lace?" She reaches for her hand.

In this moment she is truly grateful for those that are surrounding her. "Yeah. Thanks Feebz. And Regina, thanks for nearly starting a fight." She laughs a little.

Regina smiles at Lacey, "if somebody was to hit her, I wouldn't feel bad. Bitch had it coming."

Rico looks at Lacey, "yeah, bitch had it coming." He smiles.

The gang finishes up their meals best as they could and change the conversation to salvage the evening then they head to the party.

The party is already pretty packed as the pull up. Lacey is glad she's not driving because she plans to drink tonight. She needed to let loose and enjoy the good things about being a senior in high school. She was determined to make tonight fun.

"Alright let's turn it up!" Rico proclaims.

Regina, of course, has a rebuttal, "It's 'turn up' Captain Nerd."

Rico nods as if the light bulb finally cut on. The group walks into the house and it's crowded. They make their way to the kitchen and to the drinks. Phoebe was the DD tonight so she didn't partake which she was okay with, after what happened at the diner, she knew Lacey needed it.

Several shots later, the gang is pretty trashed, even Rico.

"I nev- never been, super so drunk." Rico struggles to get out thru hiccups.

Phoebe rolls her eyes, "you've been super drunk period. Come on let's dance, you gotta party the poison out." She gets up and drags him off the couch while he looks back, at Lacey and Regina, seriously scared. They laugh so hard Lacey nearly cries. She's having a blast, and she hadn't thought about Jo and Charlie. Not even Danny till now.

"Regina, can I ask you. Can I ask you something?" Lacey says.

Regina leans her head on Lacey's shoulder. "Go for it Lace Base."

"Have you ever loved somebody?" She stares off in the distance.

"Love? Who do you love? I love you. You love me. We're a happy family." Regina starts to sing.

Lacey laughs, knowing this is a dummy mission. Regina is too drunk to have a serious conversation. Quite frankly Lacey is in no shape to get serious either. She just wants to talk about Danny, talk to Danny. She pulls her phone out and decides to email him. A decision she'll probably regret in the morning, but screw it. Conveniently one of her favorite Beyoncé songs starts playing.

_Lacey Porter_

_12:15am_

_Subject: Druink In love _

_Look, MR. Danny. I know. Im' aware that, we're not allowed. You're not allowed to but I think I loLIKE. Wanna like you. You're intelligent, I admi re youre drive, it's inspired. _

_ You're young, I'm young. I'll be 18 in a week and p It cant be like this_

_Lacey Porter_

She tries to re-read the email but it's no use, she can't concentrate to deal with this. She backs out of her email app and puts her phone back in her pocket. She pulls Regina to the dance floor and dances with her friends until the night is over.

The next morning Lacey wakes up to her mom telling her to get up. She wonders why on earth she's making her get up so early on a Sunday and she realizes when she looks at her phone that it was afternoon.

"Jesus h. I slept the day away." Lacey says out loud.

She starts responding to text messages and starts to remember bits and pieces from last night. She laughs at the pictures she took with her friends and a few that were sent from Rico. And suddenly she remembers an email. Lacey freaks out and immediately goes to her email app and luckily, the email was saved as a draft. After reading it and yelling at herself in her mind for admitting the things she typed, she deletes the email. Lacey throws on some clothes and goes down stairs to get some lunch and spend family time. She wasn't going to think about Mr. Desai. At least for the rest of the day.

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**=] What ya think? This one was a bit longer, I had a lot of leisure time today. READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! =]]]] I love feedback OF ALL KINDS. =] -JadedXO**


	5. Cheers

**I don't know what happened but my message at the beginning of the last chapter got cut off LOL here it is: **

"**Again I want to thank everybody who is reading and enjoying. Means a lot to me. And super special thanks to people who have PM'd with me expressing their support and the reviews I received giving the same. I couldn't reply to the guest reviews but don't think your comments have gone unnoticed. *bro hug*"**

**There we go LOL. Hey thanks for readingggg still. If you're not reading then well, whatever, thank you for not reading lol – JadedXO**

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"So what do you think Shakespeare meant?" Danny ask the class.

Derrick leans back and says, "All I'm saying is ol Billy Shake was a freak."

The class erupts in laughter. Danny chuckles a little and smiles. Derrick continues, "Think about it 'live in thy heart and die in thy lap.' DIE in the lap. Yeah right."

The last bell off the day rings and the class gathers their things and begin to leave. A couple of girls walk up to Lacey. "Happy birthday Lacey. Are you going to have a party?" Sara ask.

"Yeah you've got to have one this year. Last year's was so much fun!" Tiffanie adds.

"Not this year girls." They both sigh. "Gonna have a quiet evening with myself. Probably do some, homework." Lacey realized how lame that was only after she said it out loud.

"Awwww, super boring but okay! If you end up doing something call me!" Sara says and turns to leave the classroom.

Lacey turns back to her desk to gather her items and organize some paperwork before she leaves, her usual after class duties. Danny turns in her direction and leans on his desk.

"So today is your 18th birthday on a Friday night and you're going to do… homework?" He raises an eyebrow.

Lacey looks at him and smiles a bit, "yes. Do homework. I'm sure you're familiar with putting the fun activities aside for being scholarly, being that you're 12 and already teaching."

He laughs, "You got me there." He goes to clean off the board. "But on my 18th birthday, I most definitely was not at home doing homework. You can't overload your brain, relaxing is just as important. You have to remember to enjoy life Ms. Porter." He glances back at her and they locked eyes for what seemed like forever.

Lacey's breath hitches in her throat. "You're right. I should at least hangout with my friends." She grabs her bags and remembers to gather ALL of her items. "Thank you Mr. Desai." She heads toward the door.

"You're welcome. Enjoy the rest of your birthday, Lacey." Danny says.

Later on that evening Lacey invited Rico, Phoebe, and Regina over for an impromptu movie night. Her parents had to go out of town for the weekend for her sister Clara's gymnastics meet, but they allowed her to invite a few people over, as well as giving her money for food and movies. They did feel bad they had to be gone but she assured them it was no problem. They did get her a nice cake and some presents, balloons and cards. It was sort of like a mini party that threw her as soon as she got home from school. It was really cute.

Lacey was walking back from Johnny Cakes with some food for her and her friends before they all arrived. She's glad she had time to take the walk instead of driving, she quite enjoys the serenity of nature. Though all the food and pies, are a bit heavy, she kind of wishes she drove. She laughs at herself a bit. Walking thru the neighborhood she see's somebody walking toward her. As they get closer she sees it's a man. For just a second she thought, with her luck, it would be Charlie. Getting closer, it's not him. It's Danny.

"Lacey. Hi." Danny says. They stop on the sidewalk.

She doesn't know how to feel, lucky or what. "Oh hey Mr. Desai."

"What a coincidence." He smiles at her, then notices she's holding a lot. "Do you need any help carrying anything?"

Lacey would love the help, she quite frankly would like to spend time with Danny. What's the harm in getting help from somebody, or your teacher rather? "Um, sure. Yeah." She smiles.

Danny gets lost in her eyes, but snaps out of it and grabs a few bags. "Do you want me to carry those too?'

"It's fine. I can carry these smaller ones." They smile at each other and walk in the direction of Lacey's house. "So you were just taking an evening walk?"

"I live in the neighborhood, and I decided to go to Johnny Cakes and get some food. It's so peaceful at night, you can really enjoy the walk." Danny replies. "Are you going on a birthday binge?" He refers to the bags of food.

Lacey laughs. "No. Actually I took your advice and invited some friends over. I was getting us some food and deserts."

"I knew you were my favorite for a reason." Danny realizes the air around them changes a bit.

After walking and talking for a distance neither of them took note to, they arrive at Lacey's house.

Lacey unlocks her door and turns to Danny. "I can carry them in. Thank you. For walking with me. And carrying the food." Lacey grabs the bags.

"It was no problem at all. You can carry on a good conversation." Danny smiles at her.

They stare at each other not sure of what to say, because neither wanted to say goodbye. Lacey drops the bags. Danny takes a step up and he's face to face with Lacey, never breaking eye contact. Lacey reaches her hand up to caress Danny's face with her open palm. He closes his eyes and leans into her hand taking a deep breath. He opens his eyes, grabs her wrist, and steps back.

"I can't." He whispers.

Lacey's breathing has quickened. "We can't."

"I'll, uh, see you on Monday." He tries to smile. He turns and walks into the darkness.

Lacey leans back on her door and throws her head back, trying to catch her breath.

"What just happened?" She squeezes her eyes shut to grab her composure. She grabs her bags and turns to go into the house.

"Laceyyyyyy! We're outside!" Phoebe is practically yelling into the phone.

Lacey laughs, "Okay. I'm coming."

She opens the door and she's greeted with hugs. "So I brought vodka." Regina holds the bottle up.

"I just brought chips and dip. I didn't know what the, plan was." Rico adds.

"Vodka? Its movie night not shot night." Lacey grabs the bottle laughing and heads toward the kitchen.

"Well I thought we could make movie night interesting and play some drinking games while we watch." Regina adds.

Phoebe sits at the breakfast bar in Lacey's kitchen. "For once I agree with Reggie. Since we are spending the night, what's the harm?"

"I'm game. You only turn 18 once." Lacey says.

"Yesss!" Regina comes around the bar and hugs Lacey.

As the settle in on the floor in Lacey's room surround by drinks and food they begin celebrating Lacey's birthday. She decides to check her phone before putting it down for the night, she didn't need another emailing incident. Lacey notices she has an email from Danny, her stomach drops to the floor.

"Lace, you okay?" Rico ask.

"Uh, yeah, yeah. Im fine. I'll be right back." She jumps up and goes into her bathroom.

_Daniel Desai_

_10:03 PM_

_Subject:_

_Lacey,_

_I apologize for tonight. I was completely out of line. You are my student and I shouldn't have betrayed your trust. I hope you could find it in you to forgive me one day._

_Daniel Desai_

_Lacey Porter_

_10:05 PM_

_Subject:_

_No Danny. I apologize. I crossed the line as well. I shouldn't have put myself or you in this situation. Can we talk about it in person?_

_Lacey Porter_

_Daniel Desai_

_10:08 PM_

_Subject:_

_Lacey, don't say that. I was the one completely out of line. I knew better. I just… I… We'll talk Monday. I don't want to spoil your evening. _

_Enjoy your birthday Ms. Porter. _

_Daniel Desai_

Lacey took a second to put on her poker face before she returned to her friends. She decided to put Danny out of her mind until Monday. She sat down by Rico and took a shot and another.

"Whoa birthday girl! Slow down." Rico laughs. "Something happen?" He seriously inquires.

She looks at Rico. "I'm fine Rico. Thank you for asking." She lays her head on his shoulder. He then lays his head on hers.

**There it is. Things got a bit tense. O_O Thanks for reading! Read and review please! I love the feedback =] –Jaded XO**


	6. Where The Wild Things Are

**Here's another update. Thanks for all the reviews and thank you for reading =]]]]] **

**-JadedXO**

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It's Monday night, and Danny's trudging thru the woods. "Shit. I think I stepped in shit." Danny swears. Ahead of him, he sees light. He comes up to a shack with a fire going. "Lacey?"

Lacey steps out of the fort and smiles, "hey. You made it."

"Surprisingly. But you gave amazing direction to be in the middle of the woods." Danny smiles.

"Come in. I started a little fire." Lacey goes back in, Danny follows.

He sits down, gets comfortable and looks around, "so what is this place?"

"Uh, my bes-, Jo, and I made this when we were kids and it survived the years. Periodically I come up here just to see if it's, you know, still here." Lacey laughs. "Or to think or what, ever." She tenses up, knowing the conversation they need to have.

"Lacey, I want to apologize again. For Friday night. And now. I don't know. I'm your teacher. I shouldn't have betrayed you trust. It's just, you. You are so, amazing." Danny throws his face in hands and yells and muffled scream. "No. I shouldn't have said that. I need to go. I shouldn't be here. Why do you make me do things I shouldn't be doing?" Danny, at this point is up pacing back and forth, talking to himself.

Lacey, in spite of the ever present issue at hand, is quite amused at how he's showing his frustration. She's never seen him like this.

"Danny. Please, sit down. Don't drive yourself crazy on my account please." Lacey says. Danny stops pacing and looks at her. "You've never called me Danny before." He sits down.

"At this point, I feel like we're on a first name basis." She laughs a little. "But I was thinking. I'm going to stop being your teacher's assistant."

"No. Lacey don't do that. Not for me. I'll quit my job before I do that." Danny tries to convince her. "I should probably quit my job anyway." He hangs his head.

"You shouldn't. You're a great teacher. Everybody loves you. You've really accomplished a lot at such a young age." Lacey stands up and begins walking toward Danny. "What happened Friday night, was partly my fault. I shouldn't have put you in that position. Or myself for that matter. I just, couldn't, help myself."

Danny stands up and is face to face with Lacey. They begin another instance staring battle. They both lean in and lock lips.

"Is that Lacey? Who the fuck is she kissing?" Jo tries to get closer without being seen or heard. She takes a step and breaks a twig under her foot. She immediately retreats. "Shit." She can't see the guy, she just keeps backing away till she can no longer see Lacey only light from their fort.

Lacey and Danny break their embrace at hearing the noise. "What was that?" She asks concerned.

"I don't know." Danny looks into the darkness. "Does anybody else know about this place? Other than Jo."

Lacey hoping it was only an animal replies, "No. Nobody should be out here. Maybe it was just an animal or the wind."

Danny realizing in that moment why this could never happen, decides to go. "Look Lacey, we can't do this." He raises a hand to cup her cheek. "If it were another time, or place. But not now."

"I know." Lacey reluctantly admits.

He steps away to leave. "Do you want me to walk you back?"

"No it's fine. I'm going to put the fire out." Lacey stays. She has a lot to think about. "Do YOU need me to walk you back?" She laughs.

Danny laughs. "Haha. Funny. No I'm fine. I'll make it. We'll talk." Danny turns to go.

"Danny." Lacey jumps up.

He stops and turns, "Yeah Lacey."

She kisses him one more time. She just had too. "Good night." She goes back to the fire.

Danny shocked, but delighted goes into the darkness smiling the biggest smile. Not wanting to confront the problems at hand. Neither wanted to face the hard facts, at least for tonight. Just tonight, that shared those moments and if they never happened again. They were both happy knowing that they shared those moments.

**Short chapter. But I got this other one I'm gonna try to upload soon. This was just important. And It just. Didn't make sense to like add more to this. You know. Lol read and review please =]]]]] **


	7. Close Encounters of the 6th Kind

**Here's the other chapter I'm uploading with that last one. Thanks for reading. This is best response I've gotten for a story ever. I'm truly happy you guys are liking it. Those of you that are not liking it. I'm truly happy that you're no longer leaving the comments. DD is appreacited. DD = Dislike at a Distance LOL. =]] – JadedXO**

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At lunch the following Tuesday, Lacey's at her usual table with her usual crew. She's not really all there, with last night still on her mind. Knowing she had to see Danny next period, she was nervous to say the least. It was a very, awkward situation to be in. And the amount of shame she was feeling for being in this situation was ridiculous. She was a smart girl. An intelligent girl. This was not a smart predicament to be in, but she found herself here; praying to God this didn't turn into a lifetime movie.

"Laceyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy-," Regina apparently has been trying to get her attention.

Lacey snaps back to reality, "yes Reggie."

"Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy-," Regina just doesn't stop. Lacey and everybody rolls their eyes.

"YEAH! She said YEAH! Just for the love of God. Stop." Rico blurts.

Regina smiles knowing she achieved multiple goals in that instance.

"You wanted my attention. You have it." Lacey says, spaced out.

The other conversations continue. Regina furrows an eyebrow noticing Lacey's demeanor. "Lace Base. Are you okay? Really?"

In this instance, she considered explain this whole debacle with her. Lacey knew Reggie of all people couldn't and just simply wouldn't judge her. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about the test bio tomorrow." She puts on a convincing smile. Regina takes her word, but she knew something else was troubling her.

It's the middle of the last period of the day and Lacey was walking back to Danny's class from the bathroom. She glances at her phone to check the time and when she looks up, she see's Jo.

"Just my luck." Lacey says to herself. They're the only two in the hallway so acknowledgment of each other was inevitable.

"Hey Lace." Jo says cautiously.

Lacey leans on the locker, uninterested, "Hey Jo."

"Can you please, stop? Just stop." Jo says agitated.

Lacey raises her eyebrow. She's not sure if she should go off, or just forgive her. "You want me to stop? Stop what? Stop not being your friend? You did that when you did what you did." Lacey can't keep harboring this negative energy to her. "Look. Jo I don't hate you. Or Charlie for that matter. I just can't be your friend. It will never be the same and you can't expect me to be the same."

Jo hears the words and they finally resonate. "I understand Lacey. I understand."

"Good. See you around." Lacey starts walking away.

"Oh Lace. I mean, Lacey." Jo says turning to Lacey's back.

Lacey whips around, "what's up Jo?"

"I know we're not… close anymore but I was walking to our fort last night, and well I saw you kissing, a guy. Couldn't see his face but he's backside looked hot." Jo laughs a little. "Even with, what I did, I'm glad, you're… happy." She gives Lacey a genuine smile and continues in her original direction.

In that very moment, Lacey has a mini heart attack. She contemplates skipping class, but she knows she can't. She has to talk to Danny. Walking back in the classroom, she's only a few minutes till school is over. Lacey sits at her desk and continues grading papers. She has to keep her mind occupied for only a few minutes. Danny's walking around, glancing over shoulders at the analysis for a few poems he's giving the class to work on. The bell rings and per usual, students run out. It always amuses Danny. He collects the papers and walks back to his desk to drink some water while the remaining few students are leaving.

"Mr. Desai." Lacey stands by his desk nervously. "Um, Jo, saw us last night."

Danny spits out his water, "what?!"

"She didn't see your face! Thank God." She exhales.

Danny visibly relaxes, "Definitely. Thank God." He lowers his voice and looks behind his shoulder to ensure they are still alone. "That's why we can't Lacey. We shouldn't have to sneak. You have too much to lose."

Lacey mentally agrees. Though, as of last week, it's not illegal, it's definitely unethical. And in a smaller town like Green Grove, the scandal would ruin her, her family, her future. And God, Danny. He would be executed. So to speak. She snaps back to the present. "Right. I'm going to go now. Need more help grading? I've finished the first 3 periods."

"No, no. I need to keep my mind occupied this evening." He laughs. "You need to clear yours. Good night Ms. Porter." He smiles at her.

Lacey gathers her things and heads for the door. She looks back at Danny, and he was watching her leave. They smile at each other, and thoughts of last night before rekindle.

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**Alright here's that shorter chapter to go with the last one. Next one's going to be longer. Thanks for reading. REVIEWWWWWWWWWWW PLEASEEEE! =]]]]] I like hearing from you. -JadedXO**


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